My Summer Does Not Suck
by Auteur Girl
Summary: Magnus Chase and his friends are finally graduating from high school. Soon they will all be off living their own separate lives: going to college, finding careers and starting a family. As this realization dawns on the group of friends they decide to spend their last summer together before they have to part ways.
1. Chapter 1

Three knocks pound against the door before it opens. "Good morning sweetheart! It's time for school! Get your butt out of bed before I unleash Otis and Marvin upon you!"

"Okay, Okay! I'm up, I'm coming…" Magnus yells down to his mother as he turns over in bed, shoving his face into his pillow. After another good five minutes of just lying there he hears his mother yell again, threatening to send up the dogs, and he's up. He runs a hand through his blonde hair as he searches the contents of his closet for a clean t-shirt. Opting for a plain white tee he pulls it on over his shoulders and grabs a dark pair of jeans up off the floor, tugging them up his legs. Magnus quickly brushes his teeth, tugs on a pair of socks and his black converse, and storms down the stairs to the kitchen as his mom hands him a bowl of granola.

"It's about time Magnus, hurry up your gonna be late" his mom says as she places a kiss on his check, and walks across the hall into her office. Magnus shoves the food in his mouth as fast as he can. He wants to spend as much time as he can with his friends on their last day of school. He runs to the living room and grabs his backpack off the couch and rushes out the door.

"Love you mom! I'll see you later!" Magnus yells before slamming the door and running out to his black jeep wrangler. He quickly jumps into his car, puts on his seatbelt, and pulls out of his driveway, heading for the school.

As Magnus drives into the schools parking lot, he sees his group of friends gathered around Halfborn's motorcycle and pulls into the spot next to the bike. Since there are no doors on his car because its summer, he jumps right out of the vehicle to greet his friends.

"Magnus!" yells Sam Al Abbas, his best friend, who promptly jumps Magnus and suffocates him with a hug. "Can you believe it!? This is our last day of school!" she shouts in his ear.

"Sam, I can't breathe, and I think I just lost the hearing in my left ear" Magnus chuckles. Sam blushes and abruptly lets go of him, going to stand by her boyfriend Amir Fadlan, another friend of Magnus.

"Hey Magnus"

"Hey Amir! Keep her away from me will ya, I don't think I can afford to go deaf in both ears!" Jokes Magnus.

"Haha, will do man" Amir laughs earning him a punch from a red faced Sam.

"Chase"

"Gunderson" Magnus and Halfborn greet each other with their elaborate "bro-handshake".

"If you two are done sharing your bromance with the world, can we go to class now? I want to have time before class to give all my teachers their farewell "thank you for teaching me" gifts!" Sam proclaims with an eye roll. The boys just laugh at her.

"You would buy all your teachers gifts Al Abbas" chokes out Gunderson between his laughter. The jab making Magnus keel over in a fit of giggles and Amir finally let go of the laughs he was holding back in fear of getting hit by Sam again.

"Ughhh you boys are impossible!" a redfaced Sam growls as she marches into the school alone, leaving the laughing boys behind.

"Sam! Wait up honey! It was just a joke!" Amir calls out to the retreating Sam as he regains his composure. "I better go after her, I'll see you guys later!"

Magnus and Halfborn wave bye to Amir and finally calm down.

"Well buddy, shall we embark into these hallowed halls one last time?" Halfborn asks, with a hand up for a high five.

"That we shall" Magnus says as he high fives his friend. They make their way into their high school for the last time.

※

The group of friends is gathered at Amir's father's restaurant that they hang out at after school. The four of them sit at their favorite booth; reminiscing on the time they have spent together these last few years, as Magnus shoves falafel down his throat.

"Well guys, this is it, the last time that we will ever be sitting in this booth after a long ass school day.." Halfborn sighs as he attempts to steal a falafel from Magnus, only to be kicked in the shins under the table by said boy for even getting close to the sacred food.

"Yea but we still have all summer to meet up here… it's not like we won't be seeing each other after today" Sam says, stirring her soda with her straw.

"That's the thing though," Magnus says with a mouthful of food. He swallows the rest before continuing. "Besides you two love birds who are off to the same college, who's to say that we will all keep in touch once we go our separate ways? I mean we are all really close right now, what's going to happen when we are all at three different schools? I say, we should spend every day together this summer! That way, no matter what happens in the future, we can look back on this summer and remember all the good times we spent with one another" Magnus proclaims with a wide smile across his face. His friends stare blankly back at him.

"Wow Magnus… I think that may just be the most inspirational thing you have ever said" Amir says with a serious look on his face.

"Who are you and what have you done with my sarcastic asshole of a friend?" Halfborn says, as he holds up the falafel he stole from Magnus while he was giving his speech, and promptly shoves it into his own mouth. Magnus lunges for Halfborn while Amir laughs at the two boys antics and Sam just sits there deep in thought.

"Hey man! I can't believe you would steal my falafel! You will pay for this!" Magnus death glares Halfborn from across the table, already plotting his revenge for the stolen falafel.

"Sam, are you alright over there?" Amir asks as he pokes his girlfriend in the shoulder from across the table. Magnus turns in his seat to face her.

"What? Oh, yea I'm fine! I was just thinking… maybe we should go away for the summer? Like the whole summer, just the four of us." Sam looks at each of the boys to gage their reaction. Magnus and Halfborn just smile excitedly while Amir actually thinks about what she said.

"YES! ONE HUNDRED PERCENT YES! I AM IN!" Halfborn yells as an equally ecstatic Magnus high fives him from across the table. Sam pushes herself closer to the wall as to get as far away from the bouncing Magnus sitting beside her.

"I think that sounds like a great idea Sam. Only problem is, where are we going to go without our parents, and speaking of parents, who's to say they'll even let us go on a trip for the whole summer by ourselves?" Amir asks his girlfriend. Halfborn and Magnus's smiles drop and they look to Sam for an answer. Sam smirks.

"Alright I never told you guys this… Buuuttt my Grandfather kind of sort of owns this hotel that's on an island, that lies between nine other islands, and it's like this huge resort where only teenagers to twenty five year olds are allowed to go, and I can totally get us a whole floor reserved for the four of us" Sam blurts, sucking in a large breath of air after she's done. The boys look at her in awe.

"Wow wow wow!" Halfborn holds up his hands. "Are you talking about Hotel Valhala!?" "Your Grandfather is THE Odin?!" "What the hell Sam!" Halfborn asks with wide eyes.

"Ummmm, yes?" Sam says meekly, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"I think what Halfborn is trying to say…" "Is that he is really excited and thinks it's a great idea!" Magnus says, rolling his eyes at Halfborn and smiling kindly at Sam.

"Yeah now all we have to do is get our parents permission…" Amir reminds everyone. Their faces drop and they sit in silence.

"How about this, I'll send all of you an email, containing all the information a parent would ever want to know about the island, and you can all show it to your parents to convince them to let you go?" Sam asks.

"Well, I guess it's worth a shot, the worst they could say is no. So we might as well…" Says Halfborn.

"Yeah! Worst comes to worst we will just spend our summer here like we always do." Magnus pipes in.

"Alright it's settled then! I'll contact my Grandfather to see if he can get us a floor, and if he can I'll email everyone the information so you guys can show it to your parents, and then as soon as they give you an answer, text it in the group chat so we know. Sound Good?" Sam says while typing the plan into the notes on her phone so she will remember.

"Sounds good to me!" Amir smiles proudly at his girlfriend and Magnus and Halfborn just nod in response.

"We should head out then, set the plan in motion. Don't forget to text if you can go!" Sam says and with that the four friends leave the restaurant.

※

AMIR: I can't believe my dad said yes...

SAM: LOL! TBH he probably wouldn't have if I wasn't there with you when you asked.

HALFBORN: YAY! TWO DOWN TWO TO GO! :D

Magnus is reading his friends texts when he hears the downstairs door open and close.

"Hey Natalie" Magnus hears his dad say from downstairs.

"Frey! You're home early!" His mom replies. Magnus smiles and looks back down at his phone.

MAGNUS: My dad came home early, here goes nothing…

HALFBORN: GOOD LUCK MAN!

Magnus puts his phone in his back pocket, grabs his laptop containing the email off his desk, and walks downstairs to greet his parents.

"Hey son! How was your last day of school?" Frey asks, Magnus sets down his laptop on the coffee table and goes to give his dad a hug.

"It was awesome! Well, I mean, It was also really sad too… overall it was a bittersweet day, like in a good way though!" Magnus says with a smile.

"I'm glad! How are your friends? You guys got anything planned for the summer yet?" his dad inquires as he sits down on the living room couch, his mom taking the seat next to his dad. Magnus sits in the chair next to the couch and takes a deep breath.

"Yep! I mean, well, we have a really cool idea! But I have to get your permission first, Sam and Amir's parents already said they can go so now it's just me and Halfborn's" Magnus's phone beeps and he halts his speech to look at it.

HALFBORN: MY PARENTS SAID YES! VALHALLA HERE I COME!

"Strike that- Sam, Amir, AND Halfborn's parents all gave them permission to go so now its just you guys…."

Magnus finishes. His parents start laughing.

"Wow there Magnus you gotta slow down" Natalie giggles. "You haven't even told us what you need our permission for yet" Magnus slaps his forehead.

"Oh! Yea! Sorry…" Magnus grabs his laptop off of the table and opens the email Sam sent him, before presenting it to his parents. "Here you go"

His mom and Dad carefully read over the information in the email. Their faces showing no sign of how they are going to respond. Magnus is biting his bottom lip and tapping both of his feet on the ground in anticipation of their answer. Finally his parents look up from the screen.

"Honey can you give us a moment to discuss this?" His mom asks with a smile. Magnus jumps out of his seat.

"Yep! Sure! Of Course! I'll just uhhhhh… I'll just go wait in the kitchen while you two ummm discuss… yea.." Magnus mumbles out as he quickly backs into the kitchen. His parents laugh at his nervous antics.

Magnus anxiously waits for his parents' response at the kitchen table. He pulls out his phone to play the game "Flow," to distract himself while he waits. After a good, long, twenty agonizing minutes his parents finally come to join him at the kitchen table. Their faces still showing no sign of what they are going to say.

"Well Magnus, after much thought we have decided…" Frey looks to Natalie before they both let big smiles break through. "That you have our permission to spend the summer at this hotel with your friends"

Magnus just stares at them with wide eyes, taking a moment to register what his dad just said.

"Magnus sweetie… are you in there?" His mom pokes Magnus in the forehead and he promptly blinks.

"You said yes… OH MY GODS YOU SAID YES! WOOOOOOO!" Magnus throws both arms into the air as he jumps out of his seat. "THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM AND DAD YOU WON"T REGRET THIS DECISION! I'M GONNA GO TELL MY FRIENDS THE GOOD NEWS! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Magnus runs around the table to both of his parents and pulls them into a bone-crushing hug. They laugh at his reaction to their news and Magnus quickly pulls out his phone to text his friends.

MAGNUS: I'M IN! THEY SAID YES! I'M IN! THIS SUMMER IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!

※

Magnus, Halfborn, and Amir are sitting at the airport waiting to board, while Sam went off to find somewhere quiet because she got a call. It has been two weeks since their parents said they could go to Hotel Valhalla for the summer. They waited to leave until all of the graduation parties were over, and so they could have a week to spend with their own families and to prepare for the trip. Now they are finally on their way to the hotel and they can barely contain their excitement. Magnus downloaded "The Game of Life" app to his phone, and the three boys are now playing it as they wait to board. They would have asked Sam to play too but she still hasn't returned from her phone call.

"Haha Magnus! You just gave me money because I had a kid!" says Halfborn with a smug grin on his face.

"Dude, you do know that the odds of Magnus's avatar also having a kid is very high, so you will just have to pay him back when it happens…" Amir retorts.

"Yea Halfborn!" Magnus sticks his tongue out at him, just as Sam returns from her phone call.

"That must have been a really important phone call… you were gone for like thirty minutes" Amir asks his girlfriend with a worried look on his face. Sam just laughs.

"No, not really. It was just my step-sibling Alex. Apparently my grandfather informed her that we would be spending the summer at the hotel and he asked Alex if she wanted to do the same. She was just asking me if it was okay if her and her two friends intruded on our party because my grandfather wants to give us floor nineteen. It's like the biggest floor of the whole hotel, and it's for eight people. One of which is our resident staff memeber that gives us information on all the activities available to us on the islands. Anyway I told her that it would be fine and I'm really excited to see her again." Sam informs the boys.

"Sam… how many secret relatives do you have exactly?" asks Magnus. Sam blushes.

"Alex is the last one I promise! It's just I never really talk about my dad… and I live with my mothers parents… I rarely ever see Alex… I don't know I guess I never thought to bring it up…" Sam says as she adjusts her headscarf.

"It's cool Sam, we are all really grateful that you did this for us!" Amir says while wrapping his arms around his girlfriend from behind.

"Yea! I for one am excited to meet your step-sibling! I bet she's just as cool as you are!" exclaims Magnus.

"Hahaha yea Alex is great! But fair warning… Alex is…. kind of excitable... I think that's the word... well, you'll see" Sam says with a grin. Just as they were all about to sit back down, the attendant announces that the flight to Hotel Valhalla will be boarding now. So they gather all their belongings and head to the line to get on the plane.

"HOTEL VALHALLA HERE WE COME!" Halfborn shouts. Immediately, loud claps and cheers erupt from the line of young adults waiting to board the plane.


	2. Chapter 2

"Halfborn…. Halfborn! - HALFBORN!" Halfborn's head hits Magnus's as he jolts awake.

"Goddamn it, Halfborn! We're here!" Magnus rubs his now red forehead. "Last time, I volunteer to awaken the sleeping giant…" Amir and Sam laugh at Magnus's pain while they grab their carry-ons from the overhead and follow the line of people off the plane.

"Oops… sorry, man," Halfborn rubs the back of his head with a grimace and rises from his seat.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get your stuff from the overhead and let's go! I can't wait to check out the hotel!" Magnus slings his backpack over his shoulder and makes his way down the aisle with a bounce in his step.

Magnus follows Amir and Sam out of the airport. What he sees makes him halt in his tracks - causing a disgruntled Halfborn to run right into him.

"Dude!" Halfborn shoves the dazed Magnus aside to join Amir and Sam, and eventually Magnus snaps out of it and follows his friends.

They were standing on a rainbow…. A RAINBOW. It was currently night out and every star in the sky looked as if you could reach out and grab them. The rainbow ground lit up the whole airport allowing the travelers to see at night. The group of friends made their way down the rainbow road to the black Cadillac Escalade that would be driving them to the hotel. Waiting for them was a pretty dark skinned girl with a sign that read "Al Abbas Party." As they approached the girl, she smiled and promptly shook Sam's hand.

"Sam Al Abbas I presume? I'm Dede Imani. I'll be the liaison staying with you for the summer!" Sam smiles back at Dede then turns the groups' way to introduce everyone.

"Hi Dede, it's nice to meet you! This is my boyfriend Amir, the guy with the long blonde hair is Magnus, and the tall oaf is Halfborn." Everyone exchanges handshakes with Dede as Sam introduces them.

"Doesn't liaison mean 'an illicit sexual relationship?'" Halfborn smirks at Dede as her face flushes red.

"Well… um… yes, in one way but…that's not what I meant…" Dede looks to the ground as her face grows the color of a tomato.

Magnus slaps Halfborn hard in the back of the head. "Really man!" Halfborn just laughs.

"What can I say? I have a way with the ladies." He winks.

Sam rolls her eyes at him. "Yeah a way that's gonna get you kicked in the nads one day…" Everyone laughs at Halfborn and now he's the one with the cherry red face.

"How about we head on over to the hotel now?" Dede asks.

"Shotgun!" yells Magnus as he sprints to the passenger seat of the Escalade.

"Hey, no fair man!" Before Magnus can jump into the seat Halfborn picks him up by his collar, drops him to the ground, and takes the seat for himself.

Everyone laughs at Magnus as they get into the back of the car and make their way towards the hotel.

Magnus walks in and out of the hotels front door for the tenth time. Sam, tired of waiting for Magnus to comprehend the buildings construction, grabs Magnus's arm and drags him towards the front desk before he goes to walk in and out of the doors again.

"I just… don't understand… it looks small on the outside… but it's like, a million times bigger when you walk inside… HOW!" Magnus looks around the interior of the hotel with wide eyes.

Sam halts their movement and grabs Magnus by his shoulders, turning his face towards her. "Okay, Magnus. Do you remember in the Avengers movie, when they got on that big flying ship and Nick Fury used the mirrors to hide the ship? Well, this hotel is kind of like that… just, on a much larger scale." She smiles gently at Magnus as he nods his head in understanding.

"It's like a Tardis! So this is what all the Doctors companions felt like when they entered the time machine for the first time…" Magnus muses to himself. Sam rolls her eyes at him and yet again begins to drag Magnus towards the front desk.

The hotel's interior looks like a warriors wet dream. There are huge vaulted ceilings lined with various weapons and shields. The floor is hardwood with exotic animal skins lining certain areas of the floor. A whole third of the right wall of the lobby is a burning fireplace with a giant wolfs head above the mantel. The columns supporting everything are these huge ancient looking tree trunks that have lanterns hanging all around them, giving the lobby a sense of mood lighting.

When Sam and Magnus get back to the rest of the group Halfborn makes his way over to Sam and whispers in her ear, "Hey Sam, your grandfather isn't like, the actual God Odin is he? Cause this place looks like it came right out of a catalog for divine Vikings." Sam just slaps Halfborn in the back of the head and moves to stand next to Amir.

"Welcome to Hotel Valhalla! Here are each of your room keys that allow you access to the building, your floor, and your own personal rooms. Do not lose them!" Helgi, the manager of the hotel informs them as they stand opposite Helgi and the old boat he is currently using as a reception desk.

Amir raises his hand with scrunched brows, "Ummm, this is a rock." he holds up his other hand with the "room key" in it. We all look to Helgi for a response.

"No. It is a rune, which has a magnetic device inside it, that is specific to each room." Helgi replies with a stretched smile. "Anymore questions?"

Amir raises his hand again. But Sam quickly whispers "later" in his ear and turns back to Helgi, "No sir, thank you though!"

"Not a problem! Dede, I presume you can take it from here?" Helgi asks.

Dede smiles at Helgi, "Yes sir!" she tells him, then motions for us to follow her. "This way to the elevators guys!"

When the group enters the elevator, the first thing that they notice is that there are no buttons, but a metallic circle where the buttons in an elevator generally reside. Dede swipes her room key in front of the metallic circle and it begins to rise.

"Welcome to floor nine-"

"MALLORY I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" A voice from down the hall cuts off Dede and a ginger girl sprints out of a room with a ceramic bowl flying out after her. The girl dodges the bowl with ease and runs into another room further down the hall. The group stands in the hall with confused and mildly scared looks on their faces.

A guy holding a DSLR camera walks up to the group from out of the lounge area next to where the elevator is.

"Don't worry, this is a normal thing for them." He says then holds out his hand, "I'm T.J. by the way!" His face lights up with a friendly smile.

Sam shakes T.J.'s hand, "Sam Al Abbas."

"Ohhhhh, you're Alex's cousin!?"

"Yeah… and judging from that yell I'm assuming she is already here" Sam says with a smirk.

Suddenly a blur of pink and green storms down the hallway and begins pounding on the door the ginger girl ran into.

"MALLORY I SWEAR TO GODS IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW I'M GOING TO SLICE YOUR HEAD OFF WITH MY CLAY CUTTER!"

Sam just giggles at the scene unfolding in front of them, "Hey Alex."

And with those two words Magnus's world comes to a stop, as who he assumes is Alex, turns around to face them.

Alex will be the death of me, is the first thought that passes though Magnus's head as he looks at her, or was it him? No, Sam said her/she pronouns when she was talking about Alex at the airport… Either way it's like Alex was perfectly sculpted by some divine being that knows exactly what Magnus's type is. She's tall and lanky with short green hair. Her eyes are two different shades of brown and she has a sharp nose. She's dressed in green skinny jeans with a black t-shirt, a pink hoodie tied around her waist, and a pair of rose colored high tops. Basically she looks like she could be on the cover of an _Alternative Press_ magazine, and Magnus loves it. He continues to stare at her as she struggles to decide whether or not she should continue to go after her friend, or if she should confront her cousin. She lets out a sigh and silent curse as she looks up to the ceiling.

"Sam!" Alex goes for the ladder and walks towards the confused group of friends and a shell-shocked Magnus.

"It's nice to finally see you Alex! It's been so long!"

"Yeah well, when we're both trying to avoid our father it's hard to be in the same place at the same time" Alex says as a sly smirk forms on her perfect cheek bones, at this point Magnus has all but stopped breathing and is trying not to faint. "Who are your friends? That guy is T.J. incase he forgot to tell you, I wouldn't put it past him. And that girl you saw running from my room in fear is Mallory, who if she's smart won't show her face unless I'm no longer out here."

Sam laughs "Yea T.J. introduced himself… Oh! This is my boyfriend Amir!" Amir holds out his hand.

"Hello Alex, I've heard a lot about you." Amir smiles at her as she takes his hand and shakes it.

"Ah, and I you Amir" Alex smirks and gives Sam a thumbs up. Sam's face instantly turns red.

"Yeah, well umm anyway… this is Halfborn." Sam says quickly to move the attention away from her.

"It's nice to meet you beautiful." Halfborn says with his trademark grin.

Alex laughs at him, "It's handsome actually, well at least right now anyway. I'm gender fluid. Don't worry I'll be sure to tell you what pronouns to use next time!" Halfborn's face turns about as red as Sam's, and Magnus is still off in his own little world, completely entranced by Alex.

"Oh, um sorry man" Halfborn says awkwardly.

"It's cool, now you know, so as long as you use the right pronouns from now on we won't have a problem." Alex says with a threatening look in his eye. Halfborn gulps and nods his head. Alex's sly smile returns to his face.

Sam gets Alex's attention again, "And lastly, that guy back there staring into space like an idiot, he's my best friend Magnus."

If Magnus hadn't been watching Alex the whole time he probably wouldn't have noticed that for a second Alex's smile fell flat when he looked at Magnus. Alex then proceeded to up-down Magnus and Magnus's cheeks begin to redden at the action. When Alex realizes Magnus isn't going to say anything to him anytime soon he decides to speak first.

"Sup Cobain, I loved your song _Lithium_." Alex extends a hand towards the frozen Magnus. It takes Magnus a few seconds to register that yes, Alex is in fact speaking to him. And when he realizes what Alex says he smirks and shakes his hand.

"Really? _Come As You Are_ was always my personal favorite"

Alex's sly grin extends into a full out smile. The rest of the group watch as the interaction occurs and Sam has a look on her face like she knows exactly what is happening right now.

Alex turns to Sam and points a thumb at Magnus, "I like this kid." Sam just laughs.

After that there is an awkward pause in conversation so Dede asks them if they want to check out their rooms real quick and then take a look around the rest of the hotel.

"Sounds like a plan," Halfborn says as he holds up to thumbs-up.

"As much as I would looovveeee to join you guys! I have to get back to breaking down Mallory's door and enacting my revenge upon her… but have fun!" And with that Alex pulls two room keys out of his pocket then after figuring out which one he needs, puts the other back into his pocket. Alex then walks up to the door Mallory is hiding behind and swipes the room key in front of it; the door opens.

"WHAT THE HELL! DO YOU HAVE A KEY TO MY ROOM!"

Alex throws back his head in laughter. "You bet!" And with that Alex disappears into Mallory's room, shutting the door behind him. Surprisingly no yelling can be heard in the hall.

"Thank Gods all the rooms are sound proofed…" Dede then begins to lead everyone to there rooms.

Magnus lets a smile crawl across his face as he can't help but think that this will be a very… interesting, summer.


	3. Chapter 3

My Summer Does Not Suck CH3

Everyone is laughing and chatting amiably as they ride the elevator back up to floor nineteen. When they get there they all convene in the lounge to discuss what they plan on doing over the next three months here after seeing everything that the hotel has to offer them. T.J. walks to the corner of the room where a tripod stands and he hooks his camera to the tripod. Sam and Dede are sitting on stools at the bar area talking about the sporting arena while Amir sets up the pool table. Magnus is on the couch looking over brochures for the nine islands and Halfborn sits on the armchair across from him flipping through the channels on the television and drinking a large glass of Dr. Pepper. When T.J. is done setting up his camera he walks over to the pool table where Amir is and grabs a pool-stick from the wall.

"Is your camera still recording?' Amir asks.

"Oh! Yeah! I forgot to tell you guys, so I'm like, really into documentary filmmaking and I thought it would be cool if I made a documentary of our summer here at Hotel Valhalla… I hope you guys don't mind?" T.J. explains.

"Nah man that sounds really cool! I can't wait to see it when it's done!" Amir says as he makes the opening break shot of the pocket game.

All Halfborn can think about while he is trying to find something to watch is how amazing this place is. He is especially excited about the AP summer classes that he can take on floor three-hundred-and sixty-five. _I may look big and scary but I'm probably smarter than most of the people in this place_ , Halfborn speculates. Just the sheer size of the hotel excites him; _I mean five-hundred-and forty floors! Who wouldn't love this place!_ Halfborn thinks.

"I say we go on a hike tomorrow on Jotunheim Island! The trails there look amazing!" Magnus muses as he sinks further into his chair, daydreaming about the outdoors.

"Magnus you are the only person here who would pick hiking as the first activity that they would want to do, out of the hundreds of way cooler options that are available to us here…" Halfborn rolls his eyes at Magnus.

"Oh you mean like going to summer school?"

"Yes, actually, summer school is way more fun than walking uphill through a bunch of trees."

Magnus grabs the pillows off the couch and throws them hard, hitting Halfborn right in the face. Halfborn abruptly stands, sets his drink on a table, and picks up a pillow. But just when he is about to throw it at a now cowering Magnus, who jumped behind the couch in fear of Halfborn, the girl with red curly hair walks into the lounge wearing a green tank-top and gray running shorts, her hair pulled up into a messy bun. In her hand is a pile of clothes drenched in what looks like blue paint. Halfborn immediately hides the pillow behind his back.

"Hey Dede, is there somewhere I can send these clothes to be dry-cleaned? I don't think a regular washing machine is going to do the trick." The girl shows everyone the pile of wet blue clothing.

"Oh my! Um yeah there is a dry cleaners on floor thirty-seven, I hope they can get that out for you Mallory…" Dede replies.

 _Oh yeah… her name is Mallory…_ Halfborn reminds himself. _That's a pretty name…_

"Let me guess… Alex?" Sam says, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Yeah… I painted all of his pottery blue as a joke, he hates blue by the way-"

"Really? Magnus hates blue too!" Sam exclaims out of nowhere, Magnus quirks his eyebrow at Sam in question.

"Ummm okay, cool… ANYWAY after he broke into my room earlier tonight, when you guys got here, he grabbed the bucket of blue paint I used off of my floor and dumped it all over me!"

"You had it coming Mallory!" Alex points out as he comes strutting into the lounge with a paint-splattered apron on over his clothes. He is holding a green teacup in his left hand.

At the sight of Alex, Mallory drops her blue clothes to the ground then turns around and backs into the room, running right into Halfborn. She looks up at him and apologizes, moving away from him, she opts to sit in the chair he previously occupied. He just stares at her; her face keeps growing redder by the second. Halfborn was too distracted to reply to her apology because he noticed a streak of blue paint on her shoulder blade.

Halfborn walks up to Mallory, "Um, you have blue paint on your back…"

She turns her head trying to locate the paint. Realizing she won't be able to see or reach the paint Halfborn goes over to the bar and grabs a paper towel, after wetting it he goes back to Mallory and wipes the blue paint off her shoulder. He didn't think her face could get any redder but she proved him wrong. In the background Alex is laughing his head off at the flustered Mallory. Magnus has a smirk crawling up his face as he watches his friend's actions. Sam has that look in her eye again, like she knows something no one else does, and everyone else just looks confused. Magnus lets a chuckle loose and Halfborn chucks the pillow he was still holding in his hand at Magnus, who yelps and dives back behind the couch.

"Thank you…" Mallory tells Halfborn as her face slowly returns back to a normal color.

"No problem" He chokes out. Magnus joins Alex in his full out laughter, that is until Halfborn grabs his Dr. Pepper from the side table, storming over to Magnus who is still behind the couch, and pouring it on his head.

"Hey man what the hell!" A drenched Magnus says, abruptly standing up to face Halfborn with a glare on his face, he runs his hand through his now sticky hair. Halfborn just smirks and sits down at one of the bar stools next to Sam.

Alex is now gasping for air from all of his laughter, he walks over to the coach and sits down, setting his teacup on the coffee table in front of the couch, while continuing his laughter.

"Alright, well, since I'm now covered in Halfborn's drink I think I'm going to call it a night." Says a frustrated Magnus. But just as he turns around Amir runs up to him and grabs his shoulder.

"Wait man! You can't go yet we still haven't decided what we are going to do tomorrow!"

"Amir I'm all sticky! I need to take a shower and put these clothes in the wash…"

"Can't you just take your shirt off for now so you don't feel it sticking to you and suck it up until we figure out what the plan is?" Amir suggests. Alex's laughter comes to a halt as he starts choking on air. Everyone glances at him.

"Alex, are you alright?" T.J. asks, with a worried look on his face he starts to approach Alex.

Alex waves him off, "Yep- yea, totally fine." Alex gives him a thumbs-up so he walks back to the pool table and sits on the edge of it. Alex inhales a deep breath and has returned to his normal state.

Now that Alex is no longer dying the conversations return. Magnus and Amir give hard stares at each other until Magnus caves. Amir takes the stool next to Halfborn at the bar.

"Fine! I'll stay!" Magnus throws up his arms in frustration then pulls his wet shirt over his head, discarding it on the couch's side table. Magnus then sits down on the other side of the couch from Alex, who is now biting his lip and looks about ready to bolt from the room. Magnus just leans back, stretching one arm across the back of the couch and placing the other on the arm of the couch.

"Well… what's the plan guys? You already know what I think we should do so…" Magnus reminds his friends.

"Wait, what does Magnus want to do?" Mallory asks.

"He wants to 'go hiking,' but that idea has already been vetoed." Halfborn sticks his tongue out at Magnus.

"Not true! You're the only one who doesn't want to Halfborn!" Magnus sticks his tongue out, mocking him.

Mallory looks over at Alex's reaction to Magnus's suggestion, because she knows for a fact that Alex loves hiking. Alex looks almost like a deer caught in headlights and it makes Mallory smirk. Alex catches Mallory's gaze and gives her a hard stare, as if reminding the girl what will happen if she messes with him again. Mallory just smiles wider.

"Actually, I think hiking is a wonderful idea! Magnus you have my vote, and I know Alex looovvveeesssss hiking! So you have his vote too!" Mallory avoids Alex as she tells everyone this, she knows the boy is giving her a death glare right now.

At Mallory's words Magnus grins and looks to Alex, "Do I have your vote, Alex?"

Alex tries to avoid Magnus's unwavering gaze, but he can't. So instead he just silently curses the boy's ability to look hot and adorable at the same time when asking such a mundane question.

"Uh… yeah, you have my vote." Alex grins back at Magnus, and once his gaze leaves Alex's, Alex promptly turns back to Mallory and draws his finger across his throat in an "I'm going to kill you way" towards the girl. Mallory just smiles at him and gives him two thumbs up.

Sam decides to speak up, "Alright so currently it's four to one-"

"No only three people have said yes Sam!" Halfborn points out.

"Actually I think hiking would be fun! So Magnus has my vote too!" Sam says proudly to Halfborn, then promptly looks over his shoulder at Amir.

"Sorry man, if Sam wants to go, then I want to go too." Amir apologizes and pats Halfborn on the back.

"Well! Looks like we are going hiking! Because even if Dede and T.J. opted to veto Magnus's idea like Halfborn, it would still be five to three!" Mallory blatantly notifies them.

Magnus jumps up from the couch and cheers. Halfborn just reaches behind the bar and opens another soda tossing its contents on Magnus… again.

"Really Halfborn, Really!" Magnus bluntly stares at him while Halfborn just shrugs.

Sam rolls her eyes, "Well just for that Halfborn I think we should make it a camping trip…" she declares. Magnus cheers yet again while Alex sinks lower into the couch. Mallory is giggling at both Halfborn's loose canon nature and Magnus's excitement that clearly makes Alex uncomfortable.

"Actually that's a smart idea Sam! There's no way we could cover even one trail in a day on Jotunheim, they are all way to long." Dede backs up Sam's idea.

"I brought my GoPro camera with me and I could capture some great footage out on the trails, so I'm in!" T.J. says with a smile as he walks over to his camera, taking it off the tripod for the night.

At this point Magnus is bursting with excitement, "Alrighty then! Everyone meet here with his or her belongings at eight AM, I would normally say six but I think that is pushing my luck… So eight o'clock sharp! Night everyone! See you in the morning!" Magnus shouts while grabbing his wet t-shirt off the table and making his way towards his room.

Halfborn groans, "I can't believe the first thing we are going to do is go for a hike…"

Everyone starts to say goodnight and head to their rooms, until only Mallory and a pouting Halfborn are left in the lounge.

Mallory walks up to Halfborn and places a hand on his shoulder, "Awww. Suck it up you big baby this is going to be fun!" She leans in towards his ear and whispers. "Besides I have a way for you to get back at Magnus…" Mallory stands tall again, only to have Halfborn lean in towards her to whisper in her ear.

"Why do I have a feeling this plan also involves you getting revenge on Alex for the blue paint?"

Mallory just backs away towards the hall with a big smile on her face. "I'll fill you in more tomorrow."

Halfborn walks with her down the hall and to his room, which just so happens to be across from hers.

Halfborn opens the door to his room, "See you in the morning… Mallory." He says; and then he closes the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

My Summer Does Not Suck CH4

Magnus climbs into the backseat of the car as everyone else packs his or her bags in the trunks of their respective vehicles. Halfborn and Mallory thought it would be a good idea to mix up the groups from New York City and Boston so everyone could get to know each other better on the way to Jotunheim Island. The whole morning Halfborn and Mallory have been whispering back and forth with each other, smiling and giggling. Magnus grins, _They would be really cute together…_ he thinks. While Magnus was lost in thought he hadn't noticed Alex poke his head into the car, Magnus smiles at Alex, wiping away the confused look he was wearing moments before.

Alex smiles back at him, "Hey is it cool if I sit in the back with you?"

"Yeah, of course, no problem!" Magnus blurts, his face lighting up at the thought of sitting next to Alex.

Alex shakes his head and chuckles, "Are you ever not happy?"

Magnus's heart beats a bit quicker as Alex slides into the spot next to him; Magnus quickly replaces his look of nervousness with a smirk, acting confident when he is anything but, always helps him calm his nerves, "Nope, unless I have a really good reason to be unhappy. But I'm generally an optimistic person, though my sense of humor sometimes contradicts that."

Alex raises a brow at Magnus, "So, no but yes?"

"Exactly." Magnus laughs and Alex joins in. Then they both notice Mallory and Halfborn smirking at them as they climb into the middle seats and they immediately stop. Halfborn winks at Magnus and suddenly he recognizes Halfborn's signature "I'm plotting" face. Magnus leans in to speak into Alex's ear and Alex tenses.

"They're up to something." He whispers.

Alex pulls back a bit as he nods his head, "Agreed, we'll talk about it later."

The car pulls out of the hotel loop and begins its drive to Jotunheim Island. Magnus gives Alex a thumbs up as he leans forward in his seat to talk to Halfborn, "Hey man are you excited for this hike or what!"

Halfborn palms Magnus in the head and pushes him back into his seat, "No. Don't talk to me."

"Awww, come on Halfborn it will be fun!"

"Yeah Halfborn it will be fuunnnn!" Mallory pipes in, smiling at him.

Halfborn shakes his head and laughs, "Okay, now I regret putting myself in a car with three people who all enjoy hiking."

"Actually, Mallory doesn't like hiking either." Alex points out while directing a questioning glare towards Mallory.

"Oh really?" Halfborn smirks.

Magnus looks at Mallory in confusion, "Wait, then why did you say that hiking sounds like a great idea last night if you don't even like hiking?"

Mallory smiles softly at Magnus, reaching back and placing a hand on his knee. She could feel Magnus tense at the action and sense the shock radiating from Alex, who is staring at Mallory's hand on Magnus's knee. Halfborn seems a bit shocked as well, but he hides it better than Alex does, "Because… I felt bad when Halfborn was picking on you and thought that getting everyone to agree to a hiking trip might bring that charming smile back to your face." Mallory says sweetly then pulls away to sit right in her seat again.

Magnus is really confused. He was convinced that Mallory and Halfborn were becoming a thing but she clearly just flirted with him and not Halfborn. Magnus immediately looks at Alex who is sitting next to him and notices he seems tense, but when Alex catches Magnus's gaze he gives him a soft smile then looks away. When he looks at Halfborn he thinks his friend might tear his head from his body one second but then a look of realization crosses his face and he turns back to the front, crossing his arms with a huff. Mallory keeps peaking back at him and giving him small smiles. Overall Magnus is really confused about Mallory's gesture and everyone's reaction to it. He's not interested in Mallory but he feels bad saying so. _I mean she is beautiful, with her curly red hair and striking eyes, and she is definitely someone I would normally be interested in… but something just doesn't feel right… especially after, well…_ Magnus thinks.

Uncomfortable, Magnus clears his throat, "Ummm it's cool. We joke around all the time. But, thank you all the same." He gives her his signature smile and she nods her head smiling back. Magnus gets lost in thought again, oblivious to those around him. Alex tries his hardest to not be upset by Mallory flirting with Magnus but he can't help but frown at the interaction, he grows silent as he looks out the window.

Halfborn notices Alex's shift in mood and addresses him, "Hey man are you alright?"

Alex sighs and looks at him, "I'm a girl today." Alex's spirits lift a bit when Halfborn cringes at himself for using the wrong gender again. Alex knows it's not his fault, even if she does get offended by people mislabeling her, she gets that it can be hard to keep up and recognize the shift, especially if it's with someone she has just met. Pitying Halfborn she gives him a smile and addresses his question, "But yes, I'm fine, thanks."

Halfborn rubs the back of his head and chuckles, "Someone's gonna have to start warning me ahead of time, this is getting embarrassing."

"To be honest I've known Alex for years and I still mess up sometimes." Mallory says.

Alex laughs, "Yeah really Mallory, one would think you'd have me figured out by now!"

Halfborn's face breaks out into a wide grin and he turns to face his friends, "I bet that before the end of the summer Magnus will have Alex completely figured out."

Alex's eyes go wide and Mallory bursts into laughter, Magnus is glaring daggers at Halfborn.

"What! That's ridiculous!" Mallory blurts between her laughter.

"Yeah, Halfborn. That's ridiculous." Magnus deadpans.

"I don't know… I just have this feeling, it's gonna happen you guys, just wait and see…" Halfborn turns back around in his seat as everyone stares at him like he's crazy. Alex has been sitting in silence as the exchange between the three went on, and she didn't want to admit it but a little part of her hoped Halfborn was right. It would be nice to have someone who finally understands her…

The car turns off of the main rainbow road and onto an expansive rainbow bridge that crosses over the ocean to another island; Jotunheim. The island is a massive mountain range, with huge trees that climb into the clouds above. As they pull onto the island and are immersed into the vast forest Magnus can't help but burst with excitement. And when they pull into the empty lot where the cars will be dropping them off Magnus bolts from his seat, crawling over an irritated Halfborn and jumps out of the car as it's still pulling into it's parking spot. Magnus runs towards the giant map of the trail system that's next to one of the trailheads.

"Goddamn it Magnus! You can't just climb over a man, totally violating his personal space! And then recklessly jump out of a moving vehicle!" Halfborn shouts, as he stalks towards his hyperactive friend and promptly slaps him across the back of his head. Magnus just shakes it off and continues to stare at the map in wonder.

"Damn… how do we choose which trail to take… they all look amazing!" Magnus carefully analyzes the four main trails on the map that cover the most ground of the island. One in particular catches his eye.

"Well we definitely aren't doing that one." Halfborn says, pointing to the one Magnus is looking at that involves climbing up the sides of giant rock formations and crossing over high rope bridges that hang over rocky rivers. Magnus' face drops as he realizes all of his friends may not want to take on such a physically demanding trail. Alex overhears their conversation as she walks up to look at the map.

"Why not?" Alex replies to Halfborn. He looks at her like she's crazy.

"Why not?! Just look at it! This is supposed to be a fun relaxing activity for us all to enjoy together. How are we supposed to enjoy ourselves if we are risking our necks climbing up ninety degree angle walls of rock!"

"Well… I think that sounds like a great time, personally…" Alex shrugs her shoulders, indifferent to Halfborn's regard for their safety.

Halfborn raises his eyebrow at the girl and comes up with an idea. "Fine, then you and Magnus can risk your own ass's on that trail, and the rest of us will take one of the less treacherous ones. We can meet up at the campsite at the top of the mountain where the trails meet." Halfborn grins as Alex's eyes go wide.

"That's cool with me! Whadaya say Alex? You up for an adventure?" Says Magnus, being the completely oblivious guy he is he just smiles at her as he waits for her response. Meanwhile Alex's heart is beating a million miles a minute as she looks back at Magnus's hopeful eyes, this boy is literally going to be the death of her.

Alex curses under her breath, "Yeah! Sure! Sounds fun! Can't wait to 'hang' out with you! Get it cuz we will be 'hanging from the rocks and the rope bridge… and I'm gonna, yeah." She tries to mask her nervousness with excitement and ends up yelling her reply, catching the attention of the rest of the group, she clasps her hand over her mouth to stop anymore stupid from coming out. Magnus just chuckles.

"What's going on over here?" Sam asks as her and the rest of the group comes up to the map to join them.

"Nothing really, Magnus and Alex have just decided that they are going to hike this deadly trail instead of joining the rest of us on our safe and relaxing hike on another trail."

"What trail are they hiking?" T.J. inquires as he makes his way closer to the map to inspect the trails, Halfborn points to Alex and Magnus's trail and as T.J. gives it a closer look his jaw drops. "Yeah you two have fun with that, there's no way I'm hiking that beast. Oh! I brought an extra GoPro the hotel had if one of you want to get footage of you guys climbing and stuff?!" T.J. pulls the GoPro from his bag and holds it out to them; Magnus takes it.

"Awesome! We'll definitely use it! Thanks T.J.! Anyone else want to come with Alex and I? It's gonna be a blast!" Magnus promptly puts the GoPro on his head, after everyone else takes a look at the trail they all decide that they'd rather come back from the hike with all their bones intact and don't take Magnus up on his offer.

"Alrighty then, your loss!" Magnus shakes his head at the rest of his friends then looks over at Alex and holds out his fist towards her for a fist bump. "Ready Partner?!"

Alex awkwardly fist bumps Magnus, "Sure."

"Cool let's go! See ya guys at the top!" Magnus grabs Alex's arm and excitedly drags her towards the entrance of their trail. Alex looks back and sees Mallory laughing at her and giving her a thumbs up. Alex just glares back at her, then turns her attention back to the boy pulling her into the forest, and the hand he has wrapped around her arm.

"Uhhh Magnus, you can let go of my arm now."

Magnus halts in his tracks and looks down at where his hand is; his cheeks grow red as he realizes he's been holding onto Alex this whole time.

"Oops, sorry!" Magnus quickly drops his hand from her arm and rubs the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. Alex can't help but smile at him.

"It's okay, lets go." Alex walks ahead of Magnus, now leading the way, and lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

 _What have I gotten myself into…_

※

"You think Magnus and Alex will be okay by themselves on that trail?" Dede asks the group as they make their way up the wide dirt path that they follow. The group decided that they would take the easiest trail since none of them had any extensive experience with long hikes, and didn't particularly feel like exerting too much effort in the activity. The trail was a clear path that went straight to the top, there were even ropes that blocked off the rest of the forest from the trail, there was no way they could mess up and get lost by taking this path.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Magnus has been hiking with his parents all over the world ever since he could walk. If anyone can get them through that hike it's him." Sam smiles at Dede and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Mallory skips up beside them.

"Yeah and Alex has been going to hiking camps ever since she was little, I think they'll be perfectly fine together!" Mallory says, and after a pause she adds, "Actually, I think they would just be perfect together in general…" A smile stretches across her face.

"I know right! I could tell from the moment they laid eyes on each other that they are definitely going to end up together before the end of this summer!" Sam exclaims.

"They would be really cute together…" Dede muses as the boys come closer to their little group to join the conversation.

"Who would be cute together?" T.J. asks.

"Magnus and Alex." Mallory states bluntly.

"Yeah they would. The only problem is that it will take Magnus at least the entire summer to figure out that he likes Alex, and by then she will be gone. The kids a bit slow." Amir chuckles and Sam hits him. "Um, ow! You know I'm right Sam."

Sam just rolls her eyes.

"Honestly Alex probably won't say anything either, especially if they become good friends. She won't want to risk the friendship just because she has feelings for him. To her the possibility of anyone ever reciprocating her feelings is small at best." Mallory sighs.

At that the group walks on in silence.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to push them in the right direction. Or in Magnus's case, shove." Halfborn declares; Mallory gives him a knowing smirk.

Dede is nodding her head, but there's a small frown on her face. "I don't know, I don't think we should push them towards each other too much. I think the best way to fall in love with someone is by becoming their friend first. Of coarse we can help move their friendship along, but we should let the love blossom from there." Everyone looks at Dede in awe.

"Wow Dede… that was really profound." T.J. says in admiration and everyone else agrees.

"All in favor of expediting Magnus and Alex's friendship raise their hand." Sam declares, and everyone raises his or her hand.

Off to the side Sam catches Halfborn whisper something to Malory. When he turns away from her he has a smirk on his face. Sam recognizes that smirk immediately. Halfborn is up to something. As the group continues up the trail Sam makes her way to Halfborn's side.

"Hey can I talk to you for a sec?"

Halfborn turns to look at her his brows furrowed, "Yeah sure, I'll be right back Mallory." He says, and then he and Sam slow their pace so that they are at the back of the group where no one can hear them.

Sam stares down Halfborn. "Whatever you're planning with Mallory, don't do it."

Halfborn winces, "Look Sam it's not a bi-"

"No, Halfborn. You can mess around with any other part of his life; I don't care. But do not; mess with his growing relationship with Alex. He needs this, especially after what he went through back home… you know he hasn't been the same way since."

Halfborn drops his head, grimacing. He sneaks a glance at Mallory, he knows she will be disappointed but he also knows that Sam is right. Even if what they were planning would only embarrass him, it may make him keep away from Alex. He doesn't want to ruin something that could help Magnus breakaway from his past. Slowly he nods his head.

"You're right Sam… I hadn't thought about, that… I'll tell Mallory that we'll have to go about pranking those two another way." He gives Sam a small smile.

Sam releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "Thanks Halfborn… um, good luck with, whatever it is you decide to do." She winks at him as she picks up the pace to go join Dede and Amir.

Halfborn laughs, "Don't worry Sam, it's going to be good, I promise!" Sam doesn't always admit it but she really does love witnessing his and Magnus's ongoing prank war.

Halfborn walks back up to Mallory, he's not looking forward to telling her that they'll have to cancel their plans…

※

Magnus is having the time of his life. Right now he is sitting on a wide ledge about three quarters of the way up a beautiful mountainside that overlooks the forest below; alongside one of the coolest people he has ever had the opportunity to meet. In all honesty though, Magnus finds Alex to be amazing. He's never met someone who is just as enthusiastic about hiking and the outdoors as he is, and he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Alex is also a well-practiced free-climber, it's not everyday you meet someone else who is crazy enough to climb cliff-sides without any gear. As they made their way through the trail and up the mountain they've been talking non-stop, covering everything from their friends and education, to their likes and dislikes. And now, as they take sips of water and prepare to scale the rest of the mountain, Magnus can't seem to tear his eyes off of her.

"Ready to take on the rest of this cliff Magnus?" Alex asks, already starting to climb the wall of rock before her.

"Yeah! Go ahead and keep climbing though. I've gotta put this GoPro back on still."

Alex laughs, "Wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon, besides, it's a race to the top, remember?"

Magnus groans, "Ugh, I forgot we were doing that!" He shouts at Alex, who is now already fifteen feet above him.

Quickly, Magnus shoves his water bottle back into his pack and pulls out T.J's GoPro, positioning it back on his head. He zips back up his pack and pulls it onto his back, making his way over to the cliff wall. He looks up and sees that Alex has made it even further up the side.

"How the hell did you make it that far up already! There's no way I'm going to catch up now!" He shouts to her, he can hear her laughter even though he's twenty feet below her. He watches her lean figure skillfully find it's way up the wall, he can't help but admire her talent.

"I'm just that good!" Alex yells back, trying to reach at the protruding piece of rock on her upper-right-hand side that's created the perfect groove for a handhold. She takes her right leg off the little ledge it was placed on to help lean her body more towards the direction she needs to go. "Maybe if you- ahhhhh!"

Magnus watches in horror as the ledge Alex's left foot was on breaks away from the rock, causing her to fall along with it, screaming. He immediately snaps into action, positioning himself right below Alex, ready to break her fall, and in an instant she is in his arms. The weight of her body makes his knees buckle and they tumble into a pile on the ground against the wall, luckily their packs lessened the force of their fall. His arms are still wrapped tight around her as she breathes heavily into his chest, trying to calm her racing heart. Her muscles are wound tight and she grasps at Magnus's back holding on for dear life.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Magnus pulls her in closer, sliding his hand beneath her bag and rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her back to help calm her. Slowly her breathing steadies and she pulls away a little from Magnus, but being in his arms makes her feel better so she doesn't want to get up quite yet.

"Holy Shit." Alex giggles.

"Holy shit!? HOLY SHIT!?" Magnus lets go of Alex. "Really Alex! How are you laughing right now!? You just fell like twenty feet, from the side of a mountain, and you're laughing!" He kneels in front of her on the ground, taking her face in his hands. His worried eyes bore into her mixed brown ones, and Alex finds her heart rate picking up again. "Seriously Alex… are you okay?" Magnus finds himself scanning her for injuries, then quickly pulls his gaze back to hers.

Alex reaches up and lays her hands on top of the ones Magnus has placed on her cheeks, then slowly pulls them away, "I'm fine Magnus, really." She let's go of his hands and stands up, looking down on him. "Let's just finish this climb okay?"

Magnus raises an eyebrow at her as he stands up, "Are you sure you're okay climbing again, so soon after that fall?"

The concern Magnus has for her well being makes Alex grin, "Yes Magnus, this isn't the first time I've had a bad fall… besides, if it happens again, I know you'll be there to catch me." Alex watches as the frown on Magnus's face stretches into a full out smile, followed by the wonderful sound of his laughter.

"Unbelievable…" Magnus shakes his head. "Okay, let's get going. But! This time, I'm point!" He smirks at Alex as he turns around and begins to climb up the cliff-face once again. But this time, he'll be the one finding the safe path to the top, and Alex will be the one enjoying the view from below…

※

They are only about three quarters of the way through the trail and everyone's already exhausted.

"Remember when you all thought this was a good idea and sided with Magnus? Well I bet you're all regretting that idea now…" Halfborn quips.

Sam rolls her eyes, "Just shut-up and keep walking, we should be to the campsite soon."

"That's good because I really have to pee." Halfborn blatantly states.

"Thanks for sharing Halfborn, now instead of whining about it why don't you just go behind a tree like a real man." Amir crosses his arms, challenging Halfborn. "Honestly I have no idea why you haven't done it sooner, T.J. and I've both done it already and we didn't need to make a big scene out of it." Everyone laughs.

Halfborn glares at Amir, "Fine, I will." And with that Halfborn marches his way off the clear path and into the thick of the forest, angrily mumbling to himself about the way Amir embarrassed him in front of everyone. Since he's too busy playing the scene over in his head instead of paying attention he's caught unawares when the fallen branch he steps on snaps up and whacks him in the face. "Seriously!" He yells and breaks the branch in two, promptly tossing the one end at the thick patch of bushes twenty yards away.

And that's when the bush growls at him.

Halfborn freezes in place, expecting a bear to come out around the corner. But instead, out stalks this adorable baby grey wolf and Halfborn's eyes turn into hearts.

"Awww, aren't you just adorable!" Halfborn begins to walk towards the baby wolf, because he wants to pet it, but then five more baby wolves pop out of the bushes, growling at Halfborn. So he does what any respectable man would do in this situation, he runs.

"Guys we need to get out of here!" He yells out to his friends.

"Oh no Halfborn what happened? Did you accidently wipe your ass with poison ivy?" Amir shouts back, and Halfborn can hear everyone laughing again.

"Not exactly." He proclaims as he runs towards them from out of the forest, followed by the tiny pack of wolves.

Everyone's eyes go wide at the sight before them. After processing what is happening, they all run for their lives in every which direction just to get away from the mini predators.

※

The sun is setting in the sky as Magnus and Alex cross a bridge that spans over a wide river lying fifty feet below. The campsite they are meeting the others at is right on the other side. Ever since the fall at the cliff Alex has purposely been doing reckless things just to get a reaction out of Magnus. Currently she's hanging over the edge of the bridge by her hands, as an excuse to do it she told Magnus to give her the GoPro so that she could get a better shot of the waters rushing below them. Alex doesn't think he actually believed her but he knew he couldn't stand in her way at this point, not after she did a handstand on the edge of the top of the mountain they climbed. Magnus being the knight in shining armor that he is, remains as close as he can to Alex every time she does one of these crazy stunts, so that he can catch her if need be. Her recklessness is driving him insane.

"Alright Alex I think you've got enough footage, so come back on the bridge now." Magnus exclaims while kneeling next to her hands, ready to pull her up himself.

Alex looks up at his face that's hanging over the side of the bridge right above her, looking into his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time that day. She can tell he's worried, like he has been ever since she fell off the cliff wall, so she decides maybe it's time to stop tormenting him and his seemingly endless patience, and pulls herself back on the bridge. Magnus tries to help her but she swats his hands away. No way is she going to let Magnus catch her in a moment of weakness again. That was way too embarrassing.

"Okay, Okay, I'm up." Alex rolls her eyes at Magnus, handing him back the GoPro, and he just shakes his head at her. He's done that a lot today.

"Alright, let's go." Magnus reaches up to put the GoPro back on but Alex grabs his wrist before he can, he raises a brow at her and she turns away for a second to hide her blush.

"We're already at the end of the trail I don't think you'll need that anymore." She says, and Magnus gives her a hard stare as she drops her hand from his wrist.

"Good point." He replies, opening his bag and shoving the GoPro in one of the front pockets.

Alex would never say it to him out loud but she loves the way he looks with his hair tied back and the green bandana wrapped around his head, the GoPro just throws everything off. Which is why she slyly suggested he not wear it anymore. Proud of herself, she gestures for him to lead the way, and he does, totally oblivious to the fact that Alex is checking him out from behind.

When they get to the campsite they're surprised to find it empty.

"Shouldn't they have gotten here by now?" Alex asks.

"Yeah… their trail should have gotten them here a whole two-four hours before us, depending on their pace… I hope their okay…" Magnus scans the campgrounds again, just in case this is one of Halfborn's pranks and they are about to pop out of the trees at any moment. But he can't find them anywhere. "Weird."

"Should we go down their trail and-"

"THANK THE GODS!" A bedraggled T.J. emerges from the trees nowhere near the head of the trail they should have came through, interrupting Alex.

"T.J.!" Alex says rushing towards him with Magnus right behind her. "What happened where are the others!?"

"Oh, they should be here any minute now, as for what happened, ask Halfborn." An out of breath T.J. replies, bending over trying to catch his breath.

About fifty yards from the other side of the trail, Dede, Mallory, and Amir appear. All of them in just as bad of shape as T.J. They make their way towards the rest of the group.

"Alright what the hell is going on?!" Magnus shouts.

"I'll tell you what's going on!"

They all turn their heads to the trail head where they see Sam storm out of dragging a wide-eyed Halfborn with her. It looks as though Halfborn has scratches up and down his legs.

"This idiot!" Sam punches Halfborn and he winces. "Threw a stick at a pack of baby wolves! We all got separated, even though the wolves were mainly after Halfborn! And they ended up chasing us all throughout the mountainside! Until we were finally able to lose them by tossing a pack of hot dogs from Halfborn's pack behind us!"

"Look, how was I supposed to know that there would be a pack of baby wolves behind those bushes!" Halfborn protests.

Everyone starts yelling at Halfborn all at once, Sam even starts hitting him again. Alex and Magnus just stand there in shock; then they both look at each other and realize they have to break up the fight.

"Alright! Alright! Break it up people, break it up!" Alex yells at them, pulling Sam off of Halfborn, who she had tackled to the ground at this point, as Magnus pushes the others away from Halfborn, who is lying on the ground trying to catch his breath.

"Okay look, we're all here now, there's no more wolves and no one has any broken bones from falling off the side of a cliff-"

"Wait what?" Sam interjects. Alex gives Magnus the death glare over Sam's shoulder.

Magnus winces, "Not important Sam. Anyway! We're all here so why don't we all just calm down, set up camp, and build a kick-ass campfire so we can eat some S'Mores. Whadaya say guys?" Magnus looks at all of their faces, they all look a bit pissed at the moment but they end up agreeing to his terms. Magnus just has a gift when it comes to talking people down from violence and anger.

Mallory walks over and helps Halfborn off the ground as everyone else makes their way to the center of camp to set everything up.

"You're an idiot, you know that right?" She asks.

Halfborn looks down at her with his signature smile, "Maybe, but at least I'm a good-looking idiot. Right?" He stares into her eyes, and just when he thinks she's about to agree with him and play along with his flirting, she bursts into a fit of giggles.

Shaking her head Mallory walks away from Halfborn, still laughing, "Sure Halfborn, whatever you say!"

※

After everyone finishes hanging up their hammocks on the trees and settles down next to the bonfire Alex and Magnus built, they all seem to have completely forgotten about the bad things that happened to them during their trek up the mountain. Now they're all telling stories, laughing, and eating S'Mores, just like any normal group of teenagers would on an overnight hiking trip.

"Hold up! Magnus and Halfborn actually managed to hi-jack a golf-cart at the age of six?!" Dede asks, leaning forward on the edge of the log she's sharing with Mallory.

"No joke, I steered the wheel while Magnus sat on the floor of the cart and controlled the pedals with his hands!" Halfborn exclaims. "The golfer's at my dad's club were so confused when these two kids kept driving down the flags on the course!" Everyone bursts into laughter.

"Yeah, but you're leaving out the part when you ran into that tree, then abandoned the cart and ran to the pool house to hide. And how after the men on the course gave your descriptions to your father and you both had to spend the rest of the summer cleaning trash out of the course ponds!" Sam points out in between bouts of laughter.

"Hey at least the man didn't separate us! He knew we would get nothing done if we were separated; we're a package deal after all. " Halfborn says while throwing his arm over Magnus's shoulder, who promptly tries to scoot away from him on their log. Only then he realizes he is getting closer to Alex on her and T.J.'s log so he moves back. Everyone else pretended like it didn't mean anything when Magnus chose the last spot open next to Alex, even though it totally does.

"Hey! Remember when Halfborn and Magnus made a band in middle school and tried out for the talent show! And when the judges said they'd let Magnus perform, but only if he did it without Halfborn on the drums, he told them that they were a 'package deal' then just walked out of the auditorium, and then Halfborn threw his sticks at the judges as he followed Magnus out!" Amir interjects, and more laughter follows, "Halfborn should never be allowed near a musical instrument. Magnus on the other hand…"

"Wait… can Magnus sing?!" Mallory gushes, said boy's face begins to turn red and he quickly buries his head in his hands with a groan. "Oh my Gods he can can't he!" Mallory affirms after seeing Magnus squirm in his seat.

"Oh yeah… Magnus can sing." Sam says with a wide smirk on her face.

"Saaaammmm!" Magnus whines.

"Aw come on Magnus, sing us a song! We're literally sitting around a campfire, it'll be like the perfect stereotypical campfire scene from the movies where the guy whips out his guitar and plays songs for everyone!" Mallory claps her hands together in excitement.

"First of all I left my guitar back at the hotel-"

"Ahhhh! He even plays the guitar!" Mallory's fangirling completely interrupts what he is trying to say but she doesn't care, and she knows that on the inside Alex is reacting the same way to this news. She can tell by the way her body has gotten all stiff and how she doesn't really know where to look at the moment, anywhere but at Magnus.

"Uhhhh, anyway, I'm not going to sing." Magnus says matter-of-factly.

"Come on man! What about that song by the Get Up Kids? Bonfire Kentucky?" Halfborn asks, slapping him on the back in a vote of confidence.

Magnus chuckles, "You mean 'Campfire Kansas'?"

"Yeah, that one!" Halfborn smiles mischievously at him, then he starts a chant, "Magnus, MAGnus, MAGNus, MAGNUS!"

Everyone joins in and he just shakes his head at everyone, letting a smile creep onto his face he gives in, "FINE, I'll sing!"

More cheering ensues, "Damn, you guys are quite the persistent crowd." He laughs, and once they've all finally calmed down, Magnus sings.

Alex isn't sure what she expected. For some reason she was hoping that his friends were lying and that Magnus actually couldn't sing to save his laugh. But… man, were they telling the truth. That boy could sing, and if she hadn't found him charming before, she definitely did now. Listening to Magnus sing ties her stomach in knots, and in that moment she knows she's a goner.

Surprisingly, once Magnus starts singing, he is completely comfortable with himself. He was nervous to sing in front of all of his new friends… some more than others. But then he remembered how much he loved it and it renewed a sense of confidence in him that only happens when he sings. And as he looks around at the people sharing this moment with him, he knows that there is nowhere else, and nothing else, he would rather be doing at this moment. Everyone looks genuinely happy, and for the ones who hadn't heard him sing before, they seem impressed. He turns his head to look at Alex, and when their eyes meet everything feels right in the world. He sings the last two lines directly to her, and he watches as a grin envelopes her face. Everyone claps and cheers.

And then she laughs.

"Whoa, you really are Kurt Cobain aren't you? I knew it!" Alex proclaims. Magnus throws his head back in laughter. Meanwhile inner Alex was screaming. The last two lines of the song he sang were in no way a romantic confession, but the way he sang them directly to her, looking directly into her eyes! Damn, it sure did feel like one.

After everyone joked around a bit more over the fact that Magnus could actually sing. The gang decided it was time to settle down for the night and they all made their way to their respective hammocks to fall asleep.

※

In the morning Magnus and Alex decided it would be best for everyone if they led the others down the trail they came up yesterday. Because of what happened the day before were more than happy to agree, and they were able to make it down the mountain twice as fast as they did going up it yesterday. Mostly because it was just a straight shoot downhill, but also because Alex and Magnus were walking really fast and they all were trying to keep up. When they reached the bottom of the hill they called the drivers from yesterday, and they showed up in no time to drive them back to the hotel. Everyone was exhausted so there wasn't much conversation on the way back. Even when they got to their floor everyone quietly shuffled to their respective rooms to shower and relax for the rest of the day. Alex and Magnus were the only two left in the hallway, and right before Alex enters her room, Magnus speaks up.

"I had fun hiking with you this weekend, we should hang out together some more this summer," he says in a cool manner, but then Alex starts smirking and he becomes nervous, "well, that is, if you want to…?"

Alex chuckles, then smiles saying, "Yeah, sure thing!" And with one last wave and a racing heart she backs into her room and closes the door on Magnus. Leaving him smiling in the hallway.


End file.
